Khaki

April 26, 2019

Khaki is a range of dusty-earthy (gray-yellow-brown) shades of green, usually included in camouflage colors. Used mainly in military and safari styles of clothes. Shades: khaki, dark khaki, light khaki, mustard khaki, tobacco, ash and earthy, greenish brown, olive, olive gray, marsh green, etc.

khaki

The name itself comes from the Persian word khāk خاکی and means “dusty, earthy color.” The term was brought to Europe by British military officers after returning from colonial India in the 60s of the XIX century, and since that time many armies of the world began to use khaki uniform, which provided good protection from being discovered by the enemy.

In the civilian wardrobe, khaki appeared only after the World War II.  Because of the mass poverty of the population during those difficult times, people began to use military uniform’s material to sew clothes and transform it to men’s, women’s and children’s outfits. In secular society, khaki appeared in the 60s of the twentieth century after the artist named Andy Warhol once put on a light-colored khaki suit thus shocking the conservative public. In 1965, Giorgio Armani released a safari-style collection, where models in khaki shades were presented. Nowadays, khaki is very popular and often appears in modern collections of various fashion designers.

khaki